Apparatus for the manufacture or treatment of textile threads



Aug. 10, 1937. o. FINLAYSON ET AL APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE ORTREATMENT OF TEXTILE THREADS Original Filed June 5, 1935 E mvENwRS I rmATTOR NEMS Patented Aug. 10, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE APPARATUSFOR THE MANUFACTURE 0B TREATMENT OF TEXTILE THREADS Application June 5,1935, Serial No. 25,054. newed February 26, 1937.

June 30, 1934 Re- In Great Britain 6 Claims. (01. 117-26) This inventionrelates to apparatus for the manufacture or treatment of textilethreads, and particularly though not exclusively of crepe threads,especially those containing filaments of cellulose acetate.

Fabrics exhibiting crepe eflects have long been obtained by employing intheir construction highly twisted threads of natural silk in the gummedstate, the crepe efiects appearing mainly when the fabrics so formed aresubjected to an aqueous scouring treatment. The fabrics obtained by thisprocess are highly valued on account of their pleasing appearance andhandle. The production of crepe fabrics in an analogous manner by theuse of crepe threads of cellulose acetate has, however, been accompaniedby very great difliculties. Generally, little or no crepe efiect isobtained by simply applying to a cellulose acetate thread a twist of theorder of that commonly employed in connection with natural silk, weavingthe twisted threads into a fabric, and scouring the latter. Some crepeefiect may sometimes be obtained by employing extremely high degrees oftwist, but in this case it is usually found that the crepe threads areso weak that frequent breakages are experienced during twisting, andmoreover the strength of the resulting fabric is so low as to render itcommercially useless.

U. S. applications S. Nos. 746,134 and 746,135 both filed 29th September1934, however, describe a new process for the production of crepethreads of cellulose acetate filaments by which there may be obtainedcrepe effects of an excellence hitherto unattained with such materials.The new process comprises subjecting the threads to the action of wetsteam during the application of the crepe twist, as by applying wetsteam to the travelling thread over at least a portion of that part ofits track in which twisting actually tal res place. The new processenables cellulose acetate crepe threads to be produced which have anaverage strength very much greater than that of cellulose acetate crepethreads produced by a simple twisting operation without the wet steamtreatment during twisting characteristic of the new process.

Further, apart from the great advantage of a strong resultant thread andfabric the twisting operation itself is greatly facilitated in thattwisting may satisfactorily be accomplished under conditions of twistand spindle speed which in the absence of the steaming step would giverise to frequent thread breakage.

The subjection of the thread to the action of the wet steam may becarried out in operations in which the crepe twist is applied in morethan one stage, the steam being applied at least in the stage in whichthere is applied the final amount of twist necessary to impart thecreping property to the thread.

Wet steamcan also be advantageously em-,

ployed in the stretching of cellulose acetate threads, operations forthe stretching of travelling threads in the presence of wet steam beingdescribed in U. S. application S. No. 4,510 filed 1st February 1935. v

The apparatus according to the present invention is particularlysuitable. for carrying out the operations described above, and consistsin a chamber to which steam may be applied, and a hollow memberconnected to said chamber afiording a passage for the thread offset withrespect to the chamber, suitable guide openings being provided to leadthe thread into and out of the passage. The chamber is of suchcross-section as to supply the desired amount of steam to the threadundergoing treatment, while the ofiset passage is of such dimensions asto ensure adequate treatment of the thread by the steam.

For use in a machine for treating a plurality of 'iairly closely spacedthreads simultaneously, the

apparatus according to the invention conveniently comprises a commonchamber extending over the length occupied by the threads and havingoffset members appropriately spaced along its length to provide steampassages for each of the threads being treated.

The length of thread exposed to the action of the steam depends upon theduration of the steaming treatment required. For example, in a crepetwisting operation with the thread passing at a speed of about 2 metresper minute, a 3" passage through the steam has been found to givesatisfactory results, though lengthier treatments may be employed, as,for example, by passing the thread at the said speed through 6 to 12" ofsteam or more. The member providing the passage for a thread hastherefore a length in accordance with such length of treatment. To givethe same period of treatment with higher thread speeds, the length ofthe passage is proportionately greater.-

The invention will now be described in greater detail with respect tothe accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 shows a twisting apparatus in front elevation; and

Fig. 2 shows a sectional detail of Fig. 1 to a larger scale.

Twisting bobbins 3 are mounted on spindles 4, thread 5 leaving eachbobbin passing through a floating ring device 6 carried upon an upwardlyextending portion of the spindle 5, and from there through a guide eye1.

From the guide eye 7 the thread passes directly upwards to a guideaperture 8 in the bottom wall of a chamber formed by a steam pipe t. Inthe top wall of the pipe 9, immediately above the guide 8, a tube it! isscrewed to form an upwardly extending ofiset member which terminates ina guide it through which the thread 5 emerges.

The tubes ill form hollow offset members extending from the steamchamber constituted by the pipe 9, and in the apparatus shown the tubesH) are so disposed that the threads 5 pass both across the pipe 9 andthrough the tubes. The guide openings 8, I l in connection with eachtube I!) are disposed vertically one below the other, so that steamescaping through them does not inconvenience the operative.

Because of the flow of steam'from the pipe 9 to the openings 8, l i, thesteam is moving lengthwise of the thread over the major part of thetravel of the thread in the steam, and in the example shown, the steammoves in the same direction as the thread over the length within thetube in.

The tubes 10 are conveniently made of metal to facilitate suchcondensation of the steam within the tubes as to ensure that the steamis in the desired wet condition, the pipes also being left exposed tothe air. The pipe 9 itself, however, may be lagged to minimizecondensation otherwise than in the ofiset member, so resulting ineconomy in steam consumption.

After its subjectionto the steaming treatment, the thread passes over aguide l2 on a traverse bar l3, and is wound on to a take-up bobbin Mconventionally shown as being supported on and driven by a drum i5mounted upon a shaft l6. Steam is supplied to the pipe 9 from one ormore pipes ll, conveniently located at an intermediate point or pointsin the length of the pipe 9, the cross-section of the pipe 9 beingsufficient to secure an adequate supply of steam to each of the tubesl0.

Where the thread 5 enters the bottom of the chamber formed by the pipe9, the guide 8 constituting the inlet opening is of sumcient length l toextend some little distance into the pipe, so as to form a wall or rimprojecting into the pipe that prevents condensed steam collecting in thepipe from escaping by this opening. The guides 8, ll may be made ofmaterial such as porcelain and cemented in place. A suitable drain ordrains l8 may be provided to lead away condensed steam from the pipe.

The inlet opening 8 for the thread is substantially in line with thevertical twisting spindle 4. In some cases the said inlet opening 8. mayreplace the guide I disposed above the spindle to receive the thread 5.Again, the thread may proceed from the surface of the package 3 directto the inlet opening 8, provided such opening is disposed substantiallyin line with the twisting spindle at a suitable distance above thespindle. The twisted thread proceeds directly from the outlet opening Il to the traverse guide I2. The steaming operation is, therefore,carried out with relatively little deviation of the thread.

The apparatus according to the invention, by having the offset member inwhich the major part of the steaming is eifected formed in directcommunication with the chamber to which the steam is supplied, is ofcompact construction and can easily be disposed between the top of atwisting spindle and the take-up device, as well as providing for simplethreading of the material through the guide openings. The compactness ofthe apparatus also enables the take-up device to be readily accessibleand in clear view of the operative.

What we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:-

1. Apparatus for the treatment of travelling threads, said apparatuscomprising a chamber, a hollow member extending upwardly 'from thechamber and being offset with respect to the chamber and incommunication therewith, guide openings to lead a thread into and out ofthe ofiset member, one of said guide openings being formed in the bottomwall of said chamber and being provided with a rim to prevent condensedsteam escaping by said opening, and means to admit steam into thechamber.

2. Crepe twisting apparatus comprising a twisting spindle, a take-updevice, a chamber disposed above the twisting spindle, a guide openingin the bottom wall of the chamber and substantially in line with thespindle to receive a thread from the spindle, a rim on said guideopening to prevent condensed steam escaping by said opening, a hollowoffset member extending vertically upwards from the chamber above theguide opening, a further guide opening in the upper end of the offsetmember to lead the thread after its passage across the chamber andthrough the member to the take-up device, and means to admit steam tothe chamber.

3. Apparatus for the treatment of travelling threads, said apparatuscomprising a chamber, a plurality of hollow members offset with respectto said chamber and in communication therewith, a twisting spindleassociated with each 01!- set member, guide openings to lead a threadbeing twisted by said spindle into and out of said ofiset member, andmeans to admit steam into said chamber, said spindle, offset member andguide openings being so disposed that twist is imparted by said spindleto the thread at a point where the thread is under the influence of thesteam so admitted.

4. Apparatus for the treatment or travelling threads, said apparatuscomprising a chamber, a plurality of. hollow oflset members extendingfrom one side of said chamber and in communication therewith, a twistingspindle associated with each offset member, a guide opening in the wallof said chamber opposite each 01' said oflset members, a guide openingin each of said ofiset members; said guide openings being adapted tolead a thread being twisted by each spindle into and out 'of theassociated offset member, and means to admit steam into said chamber,said spindle, oifset member and guide openings being so disposed thattwist is imparted by said spindle to the thread at a point where thethread is under the influence of the steam so admitted.

5. Apparatus for the treatment of travelling threads, said apparatuscomprising a chamber, 'a plurality of hollow ofiset members extendingvertically upwards from said chamber, a twisting spindle associated witheach offset member and disposed belowsaid chamber, a guide opening inthe bottom wall of the chamber and substantially in line with eachspindle to receive a thread coming directly from said spindle, a furtherguide opening in the upper end of said ao eaaoo 3 ofiset member, andmeans to 11 mi. t steam to said chamber, said spindle, ofiset member andguide openings being so disposed that twist is imparted by said twistingspindle to said thread at a point within the chamber and ofiset member.

6. Apparatus for the treatment of travelling threads, said apparatuscomprising a chamber, a plurality of. hollow ofiset members extendingvertically upwards from said chamber, a twisting spindle associated witheach ofiset member and disposed below said chamber, a guide opening inthe bottom wall of the chew and substantially in line with each spindleto receive a thread coming directly from said spindle, a thread guidedisposed between and substantially in line with said guide opening andsaid twisting spindle. a further guide opening in the upper end of saidofiset member, and means to admit steam to

